President Trump calls Sen. Kaine a “total stiff” in early morning tweet

NORFOLK, Va. - President Trump weighed in on the Virginia senate race on Wednesday morning by calling Sen. Tim Kaine a "total stiff."

"Congratulations to Corey Stewart for his great victory for Senator from Virginia. Now he runs against a total stiff, Tim Kaine, who is weak on crime and borders, and wants to raise your taxes through the roof. Don’t underestimate Corey, a major chance of winning!" the President wrote on Twitter.

Republican Corey Stewart defeated two primary opponents on Tuesday to secure the nomination to challenge Kaine in the race later this year. Stewart has vowed to run a "vicious" campaign against Kaine. "We're going to be brutally honest," said Stewart. "Tim Kaine is trying to roll back the tax cuts. Tim Kaine is also undermining Virginia. I don't take kindly to that, so I'm going to knock the crap out of him."

Kaine says he's up for the challenge. "Corey is an unpredictable guy," he said. "He's somewhat in the bully mode, but I've been fighting bullies my whole life." Kaine says his campaign will be upbeat and focused on solving problems. "You use a name calling strategy when you're desperate, so what I'm going to do - I'm going to make it about policy differences."

The Cook Political Report considers the race solidly in Kaine's corner.